The U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) recently terminated CERTAIN MOTORIZED SELF-BALANCING VEHICLES, Investigation No. 337-TA-1000, brought by Razor USA LLC against alleged infringers of a patent related to electric hoverboards, denying Razor any relief. In doing so, the ITC confirmed that an original patent is surrendered when a Reissue Patent issues, even if a pending Continuation Application from the Reissue Application includes the claims of the original patent. The ITC instituted Investigation No. 337-TA-1000 in…

One of the most common responses to being sued for patent infringement is a petition to the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) challenging the validity of the patent. To avoid duplication of effort, either the Board or the tribunal can defer to the other. According to a recent decision, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will not defer to the PTAB in such situations. In Certain Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems, Robots, and…

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) is an administrative law body of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USTPO) that determines disputes over the issuance, reissuance, and cancellation of patent claims. The PTAB has become well known to patent litigants since the implementation in 2012 of new proceedings, including Inter Partes Review (IPR), for challenging the patentability of issued patent claims. The Design and Use of IPRs IPRs were designed to be an alternative…

In 2020, the PTAB increasingly denied otherwise meritorious petitions for review under its discretionary authority, as my partner Steve Auvil and I recently discussed. Many such denials were made in view of co-pending litigation under the so-called Fintiv factors adopted last May. The reaction to the PTAB’s approach was vocal and divided, and the USPTO received a record number of responses to its request for comments on the subject, but no changes have been…

We are delighted to announce the promotion of our IP & Technology colleague Christopher (Chris) Adams to the partnership of Squire Patton. Chris was educated as a scientist and then worked in the IT industry for 10 years before becoming a lawyer. His experience as an intellectual property attorney over the last 12 years runs the gamut from patent prosecution to IP licensing, diligence and enforcement, enabling him to provide counsel on a “thicket” of…

Molly-Mae Hague, 21-year old reality TV star from Love Island show, has been found in serious breach of CAP Code with an £8,000 giveaway, which the regulator ruled was not administered fairly. In our previous blog, we discussed the ruling of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in relation to influencers and the use of social media filters. This recent ASA ruling yet again brings the role of influencers on social media under scrutiny, this…

Since the mid-2000s, mention Marshall, Tyler, Sherman, Beaumont or Texarkana to an experienced patent litigator and you would get knowing nods about this string of small Texas towns, tips on their favorite BBQ or Tex-Mex restaurants, and war stories about the big patent wars fought there. The Eastern District of Texas, along with the District of Delaware and the Northern and Central Districts of California, rose to prominence as the primary battlegrounds for major technology…